Coinbase Official Start Up in Japan
Already having its representation in 32 countries, Coinbase which is a major US cryptocurrency exchange is expanding its activity in Japan, one of the biggest cryptocurrency markets in the world.
In an information message on Monday, San Francisco-based Coinbase acknowledged the start of an office in Japan and its project to work cooperated with the country’s financial regulator – Financial Services Agency (FSA).
The much-awaited start performs the company’s project to enter Japan almost two years ago in July 2016, when it raised $10.5 million from Japanese investors including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BMTU), Japan’s largest financial services group and Bank respectively.
In the recent announcement Coinbase mentioned:
“As in other markets, we plan to take a deliberate approach to our rollout in Japan, which means working hand-in-hand with the Japanese FSA to ensure compliance with local laws at every stage.”
A former investment banker Nao Kitazawa at Morgan Stanley Japan, will conduct Coinbase Japan as its chief executive. Nao is also included in the composition of the Board of the Japanese Association of financial technological, sectoral working group.
A notable foray into Japan is an obvious step for Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, which has the only presence in Asia being in Singapore until its last attempt at expansion.
Japan, in particular, passed legislation in April 2017 to recognize cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin as a payment method. The inclusive environment has seen a number of corporate giants including Yahoo Japan, messaging giant Line, mainstream online brokerage Monex and financial services giant SBI, who invest or manage their own cryptocurrency exchange in Japan.
Coinbase, on the one hand, is not only increasing into new marketplace — it is also building its product line to meet the needs of a new type of customer: institutional investors. According to CNN, the firm has recently released a set of products for institutions, developed banking custodial services and launched a new asset management Department.
